iPhone 6 Vs iPhone 5s: 4G LTE Speed Test [VIDEO]

On its website, Apple waxes poetic about the improvements in LTE speed offered by the iPhone 6. The fact that it, as Apple states, "has more LTE bands than any other smartphone" and "supports more advanced wireless technologies to boost performance" should, in theory, mean that it’s considerably quicker in terms of speed than the preceding iPhone 5s. Taglines and promises are one thing, and as we’ve learned only too many times, real-world performance can often be another, and so to dispel any lingering notion of doubt, you can see the iPhone 6 in a side-by-side speed test with last year’s flagship iPhone 5s below.

Embedded below is a video of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s going into battle, with the LTE speed test being based in London, Ontario, Canada. With both handsets running the same Fido carrier, the Ookla SpeedTest.net app was elected to gather the evidence, and as you’ll see in the clip embedded below, the iPhone 6 was considerably faster than its predecessor in each separate test.

On the first run, the iPhone 6 managed a download speed of 101 Mbps and an upload speed of 25 Mbps, a significant achievement given the iPhone 5s’s comparatively meager 35/15 Mbps, and as the iClarified tests continued, the figures didn’t deviate too significantly from those initial numbers on either device.

Apple, just like any company, always makes bold claims with new product announcements, but although the reality can sometimes differ, this speed test proves that those LTE boasts were more than justified.

The accompanying report also asserts that the results, which maxed out at 111 Mbps download on the iPhone 6, would have been higher in optimal conditions. But while this test footage mightn’t have shown the very maximum that the iPhone 6’s Cat. 4 LTE radio, backed by "carrier aggregation" technology, is capable of, it does highlight the considerable bump in LTE performance versus the iPhone 5s.

At the end of the day, 35 Mbps may well be, and almost certainly is, fast enough for the vast majority of consumers. But if you want a device that really pushes the limits and offers more advanced download / connection speeds, it appears that Apple’s latest smartphone is well up to the task.

Based on the pings, latency is not improved which probably counts for more in real world usage.

Jared

How the heck are you getting LTE speeds like that? I’m on AT&T with a ping of 82 a download speed of 2.89mbps and upload speed of 1.96mbps all while on LTE.

BlueLightAlarm

*thAn

Shaun T. Weisenburger

The speeds are incredible… too bad most of us would blow through our bandwidth of 1GB in a couple seconds. Carriers need to get with the program and loose the bandwidth allowed on LTE/4G/3G connections. We can download between 300GB and 1TB per month on Cable and DSL, why not on wireless.

Matthew Friend

It amazes me that 802.11ac existed awhile before the 5s. Sadly those of us who got the 5s, only a few weeks later the 6 is out and what do you know? 6 users actually get a wireless gigabit. What I am waiting to see next, is seeing Verizon/AT&T users of us seeing telcoms scrambling to catch up with T-Mobile. The “T” is now offering using Wi-Fi connections the ability to get calls directly, even with poor cell connections. Will owners of a 6 on Verizon/AT&T get a iOS update to offer support like T-Mobile iFruit devices get? Will it require a new hardware upgrade? I dunno, but the frequent jabs given by ‘Droid users, like the big iOS 8 catastrophe issues, and the “Welcome to 2012 Apple”, given with widgets and very few app extensions… Apple really needs to stop scrambling playing catch-up versus when they used to lead the smartphone field. I realize Android is full of malware, but Apple being so behind in taking advantage of modern existing tech, honestly….Microsoft or some other little used or unknown “smart” device, could blow them all out of the water. I realize, given I don’t have billions to spend on research, development, much less setting up contracts and advertisements, but I do truly believe some still ignored areas Apple, Google, and Mirosoft ignore….. If i by a miracle got donations enough, I could easily equal or exceed in the “smart” device field, but since I don’t have a prince from overseas to finance me, I guess time will tell to see what happens next.

san q

Maybe your being throttled

Jared

Im on AT&T my billing cycle isn’t up until the 12th. I haven’t even hit the invisible “cap” on my “unlimited” plan.

I’ve been texting the speeds in various locations around town..is it “normal” for the upload speeds to be amosr twice as fast as the downlow speeds?

san q

No that’s pretty weird. I just started getting throttle by Verizon.. Once your using a busy tower they will slow you down to compensate for the people on the tier Plan.. Maybe that’s what’s happening to u

Jared

These are some of the speeds that I’ve been getting while on LTE

Filip

this is bullshit. i was reaching with my iPhone 5 (not S) speeds around 60-70Mbps over LTE here in spain with vodafone. so don’t tell me that 5s is slower.. now with few days with my new ip6 i’m actually a wee bit lower on 4g speeds… strange.. maybe more tourists here after the summer 😉

william

notice the 5s is on LTE !!!!!! the iPhone 6 is on wifi !!! not even a comparison so this test is just pointless

william

wow thats bad….. i get around 30mbps in my area its all about your location
if it was throttled down it would be .50 mbps nothing more

Jared

I contacted AT&T about it and after further investigation the rep told me that not all cell towers in my area have been integrated with LTE yet. That some towers are and that that’s why I’m picking up LTE signals. When I asked how long does it take to have the towers integrated he was unsure. He told me that since the tower closest to me hasn’t been integrated that by default the speeds decrease do to a lack of signal. Keep in mind this area got LTE coverage about a year after the iPhone 4S came out.

I told the rep I feel as if I were duped into thinking of be getting fast speeds and that on the AT&T website there is no mention that even though the maps indicate 3G or LTE that that may be dependent on if your near by towers are integrated.

Patrick Gina

RPie, you do enjoy reposting pictures of someone poking with a penis at the iPhone

Montel G

yikes. glad you made that call!

Jared

Does anyone know how long it even takes a carrier to fully intergrate towers into LTE? I know it takes tile as far as they have to get local permits and all that. However what’s the typical length of time?

Still feeling pretty duped by them….maybe I oughtbto jump onto the complain bandwagon and complain to the FCC haha.

MacArthur

That test is more like an Apple commercial for i6 than a real test I think. On a clear day close to a 4G station I get almost the speed of that i6 in my i5S with Telia in Sweden. Today, inside on a cloudy rainy day quite far from nearest 4G station, I get up to 45 Mb/s down and up to 28 Mb/s up, depending on how I hold/place the phone. Probably the differences in the test has more to do with the difference in sensitivity in the antennas between i5S and i6. The i6 is larger and can have better reception just by sheer size. Close to a station where the signal strength is higher I think i5S and i6 would be more equal.

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